Group 1: Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon

Q: Carlos, let's kick things off with you. It's been three years since we last raced in Melbourne. Just tell us about your thoughts on being back, getting underway here.
Carlos Sainz: It's always great to be back here, mainly because I think it's a great, great grand prix in general. The whole city welcomes us a lot, always in Melbourne. And you can see even the difference of what two or three years make with the good moment that Formula 1 is going through, and the amount of people that there is on the streets, just supporting us and cheering us on. Since we landed on Monday, it's been incredible the amount of support and amount of people that are just excited to have us here. A bit of a shame that it's not the number one race, because it gives you that extra vibe to come all the way here, it's a long trip, but still managed to adapt well to the jet lag and now ready to go racing.

Q: And what about the track alterations that are welcoming us this year?
CS: The track looks very different. I think, obviously first of all they re-surfaced. It's something that is going to affect, obviously all the braking points. Before, they were very bumpy. There's two or three corners that are definitely much faster. For me, we just need to wait and see. Obviously, it's meant to make the racing better and it's meant to make overtaking better and this until... we don't run and we don't try how it is to feel... to follow around here and use the four DRS Straights. It's going to be difficult to tell but it looks like, for the racing, could be in the right direction. Particularly me, I'm a big fan of the old Melbourne because I really liked the circuit in the past years but as I haven't tried this one yet, I cannot judge yet.

Q: And a quick word on the pecking order. Do you see it as another battle between Ferrari and Red Bull at the front this weekend?
CS: It depends on how many upgrades the others have brought. But it's pretty clear that in the first races, we had a bit of a gap to the rest of the field and it was a head-to-head battle - and quite an interesting one to be fair - because it's been tight in all of the qualifying sessions, in all of the races. We are within a tenth of each other and it makes for a great fight every time we are out on track. So, we'll see.

Q: Fernando coming to you. You first came to Melbourne to race 21 years ago. Just how good is it to be back?
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it's good. I mean, a lot of things have changed but as Carlos said, now, I think it's still one of the best grands prix of the year because the fans are amazing here. And I think everyone embraces the grand prix: the city, hotels, restaurants... you know, everything is about the race this weekend. So that's a good feeling.

Q: And before we talk performance this weekend, can we throw it back to Jeddah and we've got your teammate up on stage with us. Can you just talk us through your battle with Esteban? How much did you enjoy it?
FA: I did! I did enjoy it. I think we had the battle also in Bahrain, in a way, but in Jeddah, we continued that and yeah, I think we will see more of that. Always with hard racing, but racing for the team and for Alpine, and you take that extra margin when you battle with your team-mate. Arguably we lost a little bit of time by doing that but, y'know, it's the way it is and we're still learning about these cars, and about the possibilities this year, so I think things will be better in the future.

Q: Talking about learning new cars. You got the full Aussie experience yesterday in the supercar?
FA: Yeah, it was fun, fun to drive. Obviously a very different car and a first impression of the new layout as well with those cars. Everything looks so different compared to the single seaters, so I'm still looking forward to discover the track in the F1 but it was good. Obviously, heavier, compared to F1, and brakes are not as good as our brakes. But generally, I think it's a fun series, you know, with 25 cars, I think within one second in qualifying. So that's a good fight.

Q: Esteban, coming to you now. How much did you enjoy that battle with Fernando in Jeddah?
Esteban Ocon: I did. I did enjoy a lot, thank you. Yeah, it was fun to race with Fernando. It's always a privilege anyway to share the track with him, and to be in the same team as him and yeah, I mean, as he said, we are learning with these new cars how to race and how close it is at the moment in the field when you are in a battle. So yeah, it was good fun. It's been a good two races for me, to start the year with, so hopefully we can continue like this.

Q: Sixth in the Drivers' Championship, between Hamilton and Perez. Coming into the first race in Bahrain, did you expect that?
EO: No, I mean, we didn't know where we were going to be, exactly but it's very tight at the moment in in the midfield where we are. We qualified really well in Jeddah. We had a really good qualifying performance but in the race, you know, it was not as strong. I think the Alfa and the Haas were very fast in that race. So, we're going to need to keep working, to create a little bit more of a gap to them, because at the moment they are a bit faster. And yeah, it's going be a long one ‘til the end of the year to the race development basically.

Q: Interesting you say they're faster because Alpine is fourth in the constructors' table at the minute and I was going to say, is that an accurate reflection of the car's pace?
EO: I don't think so. I think in qualifying in Jeddah, we were definitely the fourth fastest. But in Bahrain it was not the case. And in the race in Jeddah, it was not the case either. I think it's been good on my side of the garage. We obviously didn't put everything together with Fernando also, with the car in Jeddah. So, we should be having a bit more points in the bag. But yeah, as I said, it's going to be all putting it together and getting some more performance in the coming races.

Q: Lance coming to you now. While we're talking car performance, where do you see the pace of Aston Martin at the minute?
Lance Stroll: It's been a tough start for us. You know, not where we want to be but we're pushing trying to improve as much as we can, and see how we go this weekend.

Q: You ran as high as ninth in Jeddah until you were hit by Alex. How much progress have you made with the car?
LS: Well, I mean, yeah, I don't think we were really in a position to fight for points. It was always going to be difficult in Jeddah. But we'll see how we go this weekend.

Q: And just a few words from you on racing again in Melbourne, of course, the scene of your Formula 1 debut.
LS: Yeah, I mean, definitely. It's always great to be back here. You know, I always enjoy coming here. Great memories. And yeah, it's always a very exciting city to come racing. The fans really get into it. The whole city, you know, is buzzing. So, it's definitely nice to be back.

Q: Alex, coming to you now, you start the weekend with a three-place grid penalty for that collision with Lance. Does that change your approach to this weekend?
Alex Albon: No, it doesn't. Obviously, we're still hungry. We've got to fight this weekend. We don't know how overtaking is on this circuit. The way that the track is, obviously it should improve but you never know, you know? If we can get into Q2, that would be great. Any position helps later on Sunday. I think we'll go full attack this weekend - but of course we do understand that the race is more of a priority.

Q: Now, in Jeddah, you qualify just one tenth of a second behind Lewis Hamilton. Does that give you reason to be confident?
AA: Yeah, I mean, if it were a tenth behind Lewis in Australia, then I'll be pretty happy with that. We're more or less there: we're fighting for Q2. And that's something I think... that's a personal goal but of course, a team goal too. We want to be getting into the later stages of qualifying. It's one of those things where I think at the minute, we need to just be that much more on top of it in terms of our preparation into qualifying, just to maximise what we have but I feel like we can do that as a team. I think we've got... there's great people here but also at the factory and we're pushing hard to get the results that we want.

Q: Off-track, you've been busy. Yesterday, doing some training with St Kilda FC. You got a new talent?
AA: No! I wish I did, but I don't. I was surprised how hard the balls are. I don't know if anyone's hit... they pass in a different way to rugby but my hands hurt.

Questions From The Floor

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) Question to Esteban. How do you feel to be driving in so many new tracks like Jeddah, Miami or even Las Vegas next year and seeing your home grand prix at threat? And can you do something to preserve and save the French Grand Prix?
EO: Well, I'm, I'm very happy to discover new tracks but yes, to see the French Grand Prix at threat, definitely I will do everything I can, to be vocal on that, to try and keep it on the calendar. Of course, when I started Formula 1, the grand prix was not there. It was rumoured that it was going to come back, and it did, and you know, we've lived so many good moments with the French fans there and yeah, it's extremely special when we go there every year. So, I mean, I don't know, what's the situation exactly but I'm not happy to hear that it's under threat at the moment and I will do everything I can to keep it on the calendar.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas - Autosport) Question to Carlos please. Carlos, now that Ferrari has been very competitive on two very different types of track, up there with Red Bull. What has that taught the team about where your car is particularly good, and also where perhaps might need to be a focus for development? Thank you.
CS: Yeah, it's been two samples, and the two samples are definitely encouraging. To see that a fight with Red Bull was, again, within a tenth each other I think it's very likely that until any of us brings a big upgrade, it's going to stay like that, because the two tracks are certainly not exactly the same in terms of characteristics. The tarmac was very different in Jeddah than in Bahrain, the bumps were different, the type of corner was different and still, we were within a tenth of each other. So, I think it just shows that... I think until any of us brings something major, it's going to stay like that. I have no idea what they're doing here: if they're bringing something or not. We are focusing as a team to try and improve a bit the top speed, to try and be able to find them a bit more face-to-face in the race because they definitely looked very, very strong in Jeddah. For the rest, I think we have a very good balance in the car, we have a good feeling overall and, and we've been reliable too. So, we just need to keep our head down and keep seeing where we can improve this car.

Q: (Michael Lynch - The Age/Sydney Morning Herald) For Carlos. We obviously have a lot of readers who don't follow F1 that closely. All their idea of Ferrari is that it's been an also-ran for the last few years. You're now at the front of the field. Can you explain simply to those sort of people how you've done it? What are the changes? How has Ferrari gone from... not zero but hero?
CS: It's been a few tough years for Ferrari. And these tough years, we've used them to rebuild a bit the team in the internal side of it, to try and make ourselves stronger, become better at what we do and we've used the regulation change of having to start from zero, and a blank piece of paper, like we've done this year, to use this, this improvement in the way we work to put it into practice and suddenly be back at the top. I've always believed that Ferrari had the right people and the right mindset to be where we are right now. But we needed a blank sheet of paper because Red Bull and Mercedes with the previous regulations, they just had a very big advantage on the rest of the field. And we felt like that gap was very difficult to cut back without a reset. And this reset has given us the opportunity and we've used it in a very good way. So now, it's our job to keep ourselves up there. Certainly, as a Ferrari driver, it's just great to see it, and see the excitement of the tifosi coming back and give them back a bit what we've missed in these last few years, because it was definitely not where we want it to be, but you could already feel it here in Melbourne and in other places that people are getting excited again. And this is good, I think, for the sport and for Ferrari.

Q: (Luke Smith, Autosport). For all five. Following on what Esteban was saying about Las Vegas joining the calendar and putting more classic tracks under threat. I was wanting to get your reaction to the Vegas news. How good is that for F1? Also, if it does come at the cost of classic tracks such as Spa potentially, how much of a shame would that be for F1?
LS: Well, I think it's, in a way, the direction Formula 1 has to take. It's evolving, the sport, it's great for the American market. And I think it's bringing a lot of attraction to Formula 1 having the race in Miami, having the race in Vegas. So, you know, it's great for our sport, in terms of audience, growing the sport, and I think it will be awesome to race in those cities. I'm sure that the weekends will be very exciting, and it will be great energy in Vegas and Miami. But yeah, it's a shame that we're seeing some of that tracks that are great to drive, that we've been going to for a long time, such as Spa, etcetera, I mean, I guess, naturally for Formula 1, it's... these are the right things to do from a business side of things, but definitely will be a shame to see some... maybe some very traditional tracks, that are great to drive, that we've been going to for a long time be under threat and potentially disappear.

FA: Yeah, not much to add, to be honest. It's the way it is, the way Formula 1 is going. So, we accept. There are some positives, bringing Formula 1 to new countries and discovering these new races. I think Las Vegas, for example, it's going to be very exciting. And Miami, and these kinds of weekends. On the other hand, I think we need to be careful with the number of races, which I think we need to... we should agree on a on a limit, because I think for the teams, it's quite demanding, how the schedule and the calendar is now, especially that we don't have so many races in Europe anymore. So, I think that's the only concern if we keep adding races.

CS: Yeah, I agree with Fernando, I think there needs to be a limit for the number of races that we keep adding, so in the end some other races are going to pay the price of having to stay out. Obviously big fan of having to go to Miami and Vegas, but at the same time, big loss having to lose classic European races, I think. Hopefully for the future we can find a compromise where maybe races that cannot afford to be in the calendar every year, year-in, year-out, can be in the calendar once every two years, once every three years. You know? And we keep coming back to the places that we've always been. Business is business. Liberty and Formula 1 will look at what they have to do, I guess, for business, but I wouldn't like to stop racing in Europe. I think it's a great place to go racing, it's where our heritage is and I think we need to keep coming back, even if it's not every single year, but at least keep it on the calendar.

AA: Not much to add to these guys. I feel like Carlos said it pretty well that alternating is a good idea to keep some of the races that we've been racing at going on. I'm sure a lot of us, we've started racing in Europe. That's kind-of our background roots. So, it's great to go back and I think we will enjoy racing over there. So... yeah.

EO: We haven't lost the great Spa, the great Monza and all these circuits at the moment, so yeah, it would be definitely a big shame to lose them, and I think we're all on the same opinion, you know, drivers, teams, and probably Formula 1 as well. So, it's not a topic for now, but happy to go to Vegas and Miami and discover a little bit the States and the new tracks.

Q: (Jesus Balseiro - Diario AS) Question for the two Spanish drivers. During the last few years, most of the races were in Europe or the Middle East because of the pandemic. So, how are you dealing with the jet lag now? How do you feel considering you have to drive a Formula 1 car in a few hours?
FA: It's good. It was never a problem too much for me. And it's still not. So yeah, I'm okay. Biggest thing of today is to come in now for the press conference, four hours before the free practice, but apart from this new format, everything's okay.

CS: I wouldn't have said it better. Yeah, 8am alarm clock for a 1pm session was not ideal. But I've been getting my sleep well, I don't struggle with jet lag at all. But maybe we need to think about what we will do with this super-early press conference to help the drivers also arrive a bit better rested and give them the chance to... after doing 23 races a year, give them the chance to also get a bit of a rest.

Q: (Angelica Snowden - The Australian) I've got a question for Esteban and Fernando. Your reserve driver is Oscar Piastri. Can you tell us what it's like to have him on your team? And do you think you'll have a full-time seat anytime soon?
EO: Oscar is a great guy. I've been invited to his birthday as well this week. I mean, he's very involved in the team, he's going to have a great testing programme, he's going to be probably the best prepared driver ever, with the test programme that he's got at Alpine, so, yeah, I'm very sure he's going to have a seat in Formula 1 shortly. I don't know where in the paddock, but opportunity comes for the ones who deserve it. And Oscar is one of them. He's won all the major titles and he's very professional and dedicated. So yeah, I'm sure you will see him around pretty soon.

FA: Yes, similar comments. He's a good guy, obviously very talented, won all the junior categories until now, which obviously shows that he has the talent, and very professional and hardworking on the simulator and on the factory, in all our meetings. So yeah, it was his birthday, I think two days ago. So, he's still very young. And hopefully he finds a seat soon.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas - Autosport) Another question for Carlos, please. Just following up what you said earlier about a big upgrade can make the difference for either Ferrari or Red Bull. How confident is Ferrari that it can match Red Bull, which has a very, very good track record of making a car quicker over the course of a season? Thank you.
CS: I mean, we're confident we can develop our car. We already have obviously pieces running in the wind tunnel, and a car in a wind tunnel that is better than the one that we have right now on track - like all the teams have. But we keep saying that Red Bull and Mercedes are the favourites, because we haven't been in a title fight in the last few years. In the previous years, these teams have out-developed Ferrari, so we are still super cautious, because we know we have a great car and we have put together on track a great car - but these two teams have been in the title fight for the last two or three years, they know how much you need to improve, they know exactly what they need to do. And we maybe, are lacking that bit of experience. I think we have great people, and we are prepared - but we don't know. So, we are still cautious and are expecting a bit to see what happens.

Q: ( Lawrence Edmondson - ESPN) A number of drivers made clear in Saudi Arabia that they'd like to talk about what happened there with the missile attack, and the safety of the race and going forward. Since then, I think it was the Wednesday afterwards, Stefano said that F1 will definitely be back next year, and that it's the sport's duty to bring about change and shine a light on the country. I just wondered if you all agreed with Stefano's comments on that?
EO: Yeah, for Saudi Arabia, of course, I mean, there were concerns, obviously. We discussed for a long time, with all the drivers but once we spoke to the authorities and Formula 1, you know, they reassured us that there was no danger for us, and that we were all safe. So, we were definitely happy to race in the future. Of course, if that's the same, very happy to go back to Jeddah and keep racing to the races of the calendar and trust FIA and Formula 1 for our safety.

AA: I think safety comes first. I think Stefano, he said the thing on Wednesday, I'm sure we still need to talk about it a little bit more in detail between ourselves. But apart from that, as Esteban said, I think if the safety is there, then we have no issues at all coming back.

CS: Nothing to add.

Q: (Carlos Miguel - Marca) Fernando, you have in Melbourne a new floor. Are you happy with the rhythm of the evolution of Alpine, and you have in the past good battles with Carlos Sainz. Do you think at the end of this one it could be possible, Alpine stay near Ferrari?
FA: I didn't know that we have a new floor, first of all! So, yeah, I don't think that that's the case, unfortunately. I mean, we don't have a hugely different car compared to Jeddah here. I think hopefully in the next races, but we will try to keep working on the car and on the performance side of it. And then, to match the Ferrari pace, I think it's going to be difficult because obviously, we are eight-tenths, or one second behind at the moment, looking at the first two races in qualifying performance. To close that gap, it will be a little bit too optimistic - but let's see. We need to keep working, and it's so early days on these cars, that you may find something much bigger than what you thought at the beginning, when you test it on the wind tunnel, and maybe you make a huge step. So that's what we... all teams try to find in these early months of the Championship. We will do our best.

Q: (Luke Smith - Autosport) Fernando, following your comments about Oscar, obviously Alpine are very keen to get him into an F1 seat as soon as possible. Do you feel under any pressure at all to decide what you're doing for next year - because that would impact Albion's plans with Oscar moving forward?
FA: No. I think obviously, if I was 25, there would not be this talk. It's an age thing. People try to find a way for the young talents, but I think this is about performance. And last year, I think I did well. I finished slightly in front of Esteban. Let's see this year, the battle goes! This is about performance, not about age, and I will, as I said, at the beginning of the year, I think I still feel competitive and fast and I feel that I'm enjoying time in Formula 1, so we'll race, I guess, a couple more years. Two or three more years and if it's with Alpine, it will be good if it's with another team will be good as well. But you know, I will find out, and I will start these discussions probably in summer, and let's see.

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